Furaibo Izakaya Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Perth

I have sent the review to the restaurant contact email and I would like to hear from Furaibo and see what the management think about the poor service.

I had the most horrendous experience yesterday in the restaurant. I understand that it is hard to find people in hospitality at the moment in Perth. However, poor quality wait staffs will drag down the standard of the restaurant. Hence the bad experience for us from last night.

It was a special birthday celebration which I have stated in the booking. It was not acknowledged, which was ok because I don’t expect Furaibo to have such a high standard. I wanted to make it a surprise dinner and it turned out more than a surprise. I was so shocked that I has definitely made it difficult for me to come back again. Firstly, the only available booking was downstairs and I was told that there was a function upstairs when I called up. The table was tiny but I could totally understand this and I was happy to sit downstairs. However the table was sticky and filthy. There was food and sticky sauces and grease on the table. I went to the bar to tell the 3 bartenders who seemed very absent-minded at the time if they could clean the table for me. They said yes but I waited for 15 minutes and nothing happened. I waited 10 minutes at the bar, although there was only one customer before me. I wasn’t sure if it was the language barrier between the bartender and the customer, or something else, it took so long and it was extremely frustrating. But she apologized to me for making me wait for so long and took my order. The same girl started to take to her 3 friends who were visiting (but not restaurant customers) in a foreign language. I had to interrupt her so that I could ask about the table cleaning again. One of the bartenders with glasses was very impatient and she rolled her eyes, which I have never experienced in a restaurant before. It was shocking!! Finally, table was cleaned but two of them came at the same time. This is such an inefficient restaurant and I still couldn’t get my head around why two people had to do the same thing at the same time when there were 5 customers waiting at the bar to order drinks. What happened to teamwork and communication? Do they not talk behind the bar? Or simply too busy being absent minded? Or too distracted by friends who were visiting her workplace? We waited for 10 more minutes and food came but the waitress left very quickly. They didn’t bring out chopsticks and I had to ask again at the bar. A few minutes later, a box with cutleries were dumped onto our table. Once again, the service was shocking!! I have been to Furaibo multiple times previously and my favourite dish is the wagyu aburi. They came cold yesterday and the wagyu wasn’t torched in front of us like how it was previously. It was a little overcooked sadly… 10 more minutes later, our sashimi came without any soy sauce and small dishes. I had to ask again at the bar and one of the girls told me that they don’t usually give out soy sauce till customer ask?!?? I understand that this is not Japan and I wasn’t expecting authentic Japanese dining experience in Furaibo. But even in the Japanese takeaways in the shopping centers, they don’t wait till us ask for soy sauce for sashimi, they just offer them to us. With the amount of money we pay in Furaibo, I expect more than this! Once again, shocking! We waited 30 more minutes and we were still waiting for the sticks. We were supposed to go to a show at 730pm and it was getting close.I asked if I could get a refund as we were going to be late. One of the girls said the kitchen mixed up the order and it was too late to make them now. That was why we didn’t receive them, although we have paid for them beforehand?!??! Plus I didn’t see her asking the kitchen either. I think she probably made that up on the spot or the kitchen had made the same mistakes all night? Anyway, it was such a horrible dining experience and we left the restaurant hungry and angry...

First time for lunch. Just walk in. Staff were nice, polite, and considerate. Fast service. Just put down sharp knife randomly. Tried lunch sets this time. Miso soup served very hot. Rice was not bad. Buta Kauni Over Rice, $19: served with some pickles and large portion of shredded cabbage, and Miso Soup. Cabbage was without any dressing. Slow cooked Pork Belly was tender, but not enough sauce. Rather dry in texture overall. --- 6.8/10 Teriyaki Scotch Fillet 250gm, $35: come with rice, salad, sides, Miso Soup and dessert, well-organized in the tray. Beef was grilled on Binchotan Charcoal, but slightly over cooked, not medium as I ordered. Beef was good. Japanese style salad was good. Soba noodles in soy sauce was salty. Three Takoyaki were ok, but good with crispy dried bonita flakes and Mayo. One Katsu Ebi Sushi was average, and the batter was very thick. The tiny cake wasn't very attractive. So far, I enjoyed this lunch set.--- 7.4/10 8/2021 Environment: Bar is on ground floor. Dining setting on the level one (can access by using lifts in the shopping mall). Modern decoration. Indoor or balcony. Packed. Tables are not big enough for sharing food. Good ambience for small group gathering. Booking in advance --- 7.3/10 Service: all staff are very attentive and helpful, polite and friendly. A soy sauce and an empty cup for used bamboo skewers are on the table. Disposable wet tissue is available. Tap water is provided and kept refilling. As the size of table, wait person will come to clear the finished plates, or we have to clear table for new dishes. --- 8/10

Food: wide variety of wine and category of Japanese (style) dishes. Simple Japanese style presentation or garnish. Slight pricey depends on which dishes. Most dishes can be shared.

Sashimi: good quality. --- 7.3/10 -Scallop ($18) was sliced into 4 uneven pcs but too thin and lacking texture.--- -Mixed Sashimi (3x3pc, $26) are chef's selection. Waitpersons couldn't or didn't tell the selection either taking order or serving. I gussed Salmon, Tuna and kingfish cutting into even thick slices. However, sushi chef's knife wasn't sharp enough, so the slices were still linked together.

Nigiri: rice was soft and not hard, firm enough but not too dense Wagyu 9+ beef Aburi, $34/4pcs: like a large blanket cover the sushi rice. Torch at side where served.😋😋 well seasoned and well cooked. --- 9/10 Otora (supreme Fatty Tuna), $40/2pcs,: good quality.😋- 8/10 Foie Gras Aburi, $22/2pcs: big and thick slices of Foie Gras were too thick for me. It's just topnotch the top side, so outside was not crispy. The texture and is patte. Not very enjoyable --- 5/20

Sushi Roll Soft Shell Crab Tempura Roll, $24: cut into 8pcs, soft shell crab in 2 ends was crispy. But unable to taste the crab in the middle of the roll --7.5/10 Caterpillar Roll, $21: in big 8 pcs -- 7.5/10

Skewers: Beef Tongue, $5.5: Just ok, tongue cubes were not chewy. 6/10 Chicken Gizzard, $3.9: chewy partially 5.8/10 Pork Belly, $3.9: not very fatty, texture is quite hard, no crispness, little dip of green sauce was good. 5.5/10

Tebasaki Chicken Wing, medim, $24/16pcs: small size of chicken wings.: mot bad. --- 7.5/10 Crispy Duck Confit, $26: served with 3 potato cubes, shredded cabbage and snow pea in a small plate. No sauce. The duck leg was really crispy. The meat was ok, not too dry, but better with some sauce. Potato was undercooked. - 7.5/10 Mentaiko Pasta, $14: very small portion but tasty unexpectedly. Al dente. 😋- 8.5/10

Desserts: same garnish with a half-cut strawberry, 1 blueberry and 1 raspberry to each dish. Brownie Binchotan, $17: very unique dish. Texture and taste was very good. --- 8.7/10 Ume Pie, $15: very small portion of matcha ice cream was melting when served. The serving size of the ume pie was normal. The taste of ume was like...

This edited review is in relation to the response from the Furaibo Management Team regarding my negative feedback.

As we were leaving we saw Will at the bar. He was the one that took our order. We told him how the dessert had nuts in it and how the restaurant manager Miyu didn't seem to care about our concerns, and how Miyu threw him under the bus and blamed him. To Furaibo's saving grace, he apologised for the mistake and offered my husband a drink. When I told him the ladies toilets also had no toilet paper, he also promptly had one of the other staff members see to this. If you had more staff members (or at least restaurant managers) like Will, then I would not have left such a negative review.

The first person we informed about the nuts in our food was the restaurant manager. She should have been the one that apologised to us and offered my husband a drink or a discount on the meal - not the second person we told about our concerns.

And the only reason my husband was offered a drink was because we told Will about the nuts in our food and that Miyu didn't care about our concerns, and blamed him for the nuts in our food. If we had not informed him of what happened and how the restaurant manager took no responsibility, then my husband would not have been offered any drink.

I wish I had read the other online reviews (including from Perth Now) about the inattentive customer service from Furaibo. Then we could have saved ourselves from a poor dining experience. We probably would have enjoyed more having a drink at the bar instead. I made on online booking for lunch for my husband's birthday. When I made the booking online, I specified my husband had a nut allergy and that it was his birthday. We ordered 2 Teishoku sets which come with dessert. When our order was taken, we asked what the dessert was because my husband had a nut allergy. We were told it depends on what the pastry chef has made but would make a note of it. When the food came out, the desserts had nuts in them (it was a cake that had slivered almonds on top and was then covered in whipped cream).

When I went to the cash register to pay, I was served by a woman called Miyu. I asked to speak to the restaurant manager. She said she was the restaurant manager. I told her how disappointed I was with the service because our desserts had nuts in them. I also explained to her how this could have been a huge problem if my husband did eat the dessert. Miyu did not really apologise, nor appreciate the seriousness of the error. All she said was that she didn't take the order and the person who took the order works at the bar. Nor did she bother to try and make amends for the error - no offer of a discount, no free drink - nothing. Overall - she was pretty rude. Miyu didn't seem to care at all about the gravity of the error.

The poor service Miyu gave is the reason we won't...